Kenya Trip 2023 Update and More!

Long time no newsletter! Sorry about that! Since the last newsletter was published, we moved from Texas to Arkansas, went to Kenya, went on a family vacation, went to 3 National Parks, went to Atlanta for work and JUST got home! God is good!

Hopefully, you followed along on my Facebook pasts and Instagram Reels for just a glimpse into our incredible trip to Kenya! It was so worth the wait! God brought me the perfect travel companions and helpers and it was a magnificent trip!

Larisa and Anna joined me in falling in love with Kenya and its people. We laughed, cried and shared so many incredible moments together! This experience is hard to explain to others so to have others experience it with me is so wonderful.

A few of the highlights:

-Distribution Day with our children and their guardians coming for a full day of activities including stickers, bubbles, learning how to play the recorder, songs, balls, games and a messages of hope.

-Working with the Made with Amore sewing students and staff for new tote bags! Also, getting to know the students and what a blessing this program is to them!

-Teaching some life skills to the computer training students and how they can control their attitude, their effort and their response to things. Super beneficial and fun time!

-Groundbreaking community party for well #39! It was our biggest even to date with the local papers and media coming out! Bishop and MP Titus Kamala joined and it was quite a celebration!

-A jigger clinic at the school across the street from our offices. This was a heartbreaking time for us as even though I try to prepare myself and the ladies, it’s harder than you can imagine. Seeing a young baby infested with jiggers is so unreal. Man, it was hard. But we treated dozens of feet and provided shoes and goodies for the students and staff!

-Attending Sheila Kamala’s Kenyan wedding! This was fun!!!! Dancing, eating local food, watching this beautiful cultural event was a definite highlight, especially because Sheila is my friend and we’ve hosted her in America multiple times. Great timing that we were there for it!

-Team Time lunch and guided hike in the rainforest at Rondo Retreat Center. This is always a treat for our staff and ourselves!

-We ended the trip with an incredible safari in Nakuru where we could fully enjoy God’s beautiful creation and creative animals!

One of the best parts of all of this was watching others back home come along side of us, pray for us, cheer us on and give generously to so many needs! It is so wonderful to have the view I have on the ground and behind the scenes to see how God is providing and to watch the fruit of the labor that began over 12 years ago! Seeing 40 clean water wells is UNREAL! Seeing the children grow up is  beautiful evidence of what we are doing and why! And seeing the difference we are making in this community with our long-standing support is miraculous.

So, thank you for everything! But let’s not stop there! There are some needs that I pray God will help us meet! We need staff raises desperately. The cost of living has more than doubled but I have not increased the pay of our amazing staff in over 5 years. We need more jigger clinics that provide education and treatment to eradicate these nasty parasites! And we need to grow our sponsorship program! The wait list is a mile long, but our donations to this program are continuing to wane.

“
Be anxious for nothing, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. ”

— Philippians 4:6

Thank you thank you thank you!

 Be anxious for nothing, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

Another Well Shaping the Future

In a village haunted by water scarcity for a very long time, a clean water well came just in time to rid tens of families off this problem they prior embraced as a perennial menace for many years. This new baby in town now keeps clean water flowing in households and rekindled hope that was once lost.

Located in a community church, it is strategically located for all to drink from it as well as inspire hope for more possibilities tagged to its sustainability. This well totals the number of well to thirty-nine, a number that we couldn’t comprehend at the start of the programme eight years ago.

In other news, well number forty’s construction is underway and projected to be accomplished in ten days’ time and we couldn’t more thankful that you have been a huge blessing in this milestone. Sunk half way through; we satay motivated that it will be of much possibilities just like its predecessors… instilling hope and joy while cultivating communal growth through love.

*At the time of the publishing of this newsletter, well #40 was opened to the community!

Rising Tailors of Difference

Revamped and thriving, our tailoring program recently graduated another batch of her students, the latest graced by Christa, the program’s founder and Director of Give Amore on her recent trip to Kenya. Each graduates received a sewing machine as well as a sewing kit to take over the tailoring industry.

By the mantra of teaching a man to fish, these maiden tailors showcased their prowess by making their own dresses as proof of their readiness for what lies ahead of them. So far, the program boasts of equipping skills to hundreds of women and men who now own tailoring shops in their villages and making a difference through their love for everything embroidery.

Their grit, commitment and thirst for learning has channelled out incredible disciplined individuals who will change the course of fashion in the most significant way out there. As an organization we are proud of them and pray for their success in their new niches ahead.

Hope Defined

Violet, Queen, and Mosses can now hope for a better tomorrow they prior never contemplated given their deprived situation. The family of five now have their hope rekindled especially in these hard economic times where even a meal a day isn’t just luck but a blessing. They received a gift of a cow that will go a long way in reassuring their economic wellbeing.

Owning a cow in Kenya is such a luxury and a show of economic sustainability no matter how meagre. A larger percentage of Kenyan families depend on farming as a source of economic growth and this cow promises just that and even more.

In the foreseeable future we pray they thrive and grow in brighter future they so deserve.

Going Back to Kenya!!!!

Top Left: Bourgeois Family, Top Right: Green Family Bottom two: Give Amore Team 2019, Bottom Left: Horst Family (minus Connor)

It is with extreme gratitude that I let you all know that God provided not one travel partner but TWO!!! Wow!!! We leave June 7th for Africa and we cannot wait! My dear friend and neighbor, Larisa Bourgeois and a friend/health coach partner, Anna Green are joining me for those first mission trip and their first visit to the great continent of Africa! What an adventure they are in for!

And, if it couldn’t get more exciting, I found out that my dear Kenyan friend, Sheila Khamala, will be getting married while we’re there! So we get to attend an authentic Kenyan wedding!

On top of this, we will be blessing new wells, working with our sewing team, speaking with our adult computer students, visiting our children and overall being the hands and feet of Jesus to our brothers and sisters across the globe. It’s going to be so amazing!!! But, we need your help!!!

We always come across various needs while we are there. We don’t try to fix everyone’s problems (that’s God’s job) but sometimes He speaks to us and through us and we want to be open to hear where He wants us to step forward in ACTION. Would you consider donating to needs that we come across during this trip?  

Please note that we personally cover all of our expenses for this trip (and know that it is not cheap), but we’d love to have funds to use for various projects we come across while we are there!

 One of my favorite things we are able to do with Give Amore is SHOW you where your money is being used and who it is blessing! Please read this month’s newsletter for just a few updates on what we’ve done this past month through the generous giving of our partners!

As always, we are beyond grateful for you prayers and partnership! We can’t wait to see what God has in store in the coming months and for this trip! It’s going to be amazing!

Now, to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…Ephesians 3:20

In Christ,

Christa Horst

Founding Director

Give Amore

Look at your Feet and Feel the Gratitude

Doing good to impact a lasting difference still continues with yet another jigger clinic courtesy of your ever-growing generosity. Give Amore’s team Kenya visited a couple of schools and carried out jigger treatment on tens of students, who can now sleep easy off the pain caused by such vicious parasites.

Apart from jigger removal, the beneficiaries received each a pair of shoes that not only prevents reinfection but also can be used as school going shoes as well. Further, we look forward to clinical check ups to monitor their progress and keep tabs on any likely recurrences.

Jiggers are a huge menace to children in most parts of rural Kenya and it is an honor and privilege to share in the healing process with them and even do more to reach a versatile audience in the future. We believe with possible eradication of jiggers; these promising children stand a shot at a brighter future and we are privileged you are in this journey with us.

Well #38 is On

Hope once lost on lasting solution to water problems by villagers of Trinity Christian Center somewhere in western Kenya has been rekindled by the sinking of a clean water well that is currently underway. Grateful to this thoughtful venture are women and children who are always in the frontline in the search of water for domestic consumption daily.

This well is centrally and strategically located in one of the local churches which not only guarantees security but also ease of access by the locals and people from villages beyond. This well brings our total tally to thirty-eight and we believe just like its predecessors, it will serve the greater good of alleviating water scarcity problems and any tagged risks.

We stand motivated by the local women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough in ensuring that not even an ounce of water misses in their households despite all the difficulties and challenges they face while at the task.

Asante Sana (thank you so much)

Here is to eight years of being the story of good and change in the lives of hundreds of individuals nay families and stopping at nothing to ensuring lasting affirmative change in the lives of our beneficiaries despite all the challenges we have faced over the years.

We couldn’t have done a single thing without your prayers and the so much needed help you extend without pouting. Above them all, we are grateful of the inspiration of grit you give to our team and the unconditional love you show our children not forgetting that you are the pillar that keep our programs running and our projects completed.

So much we can say and so little we can do to match the sea of goodness you have done so far and, in that spirit, we hope to scale even greater heights with you by our side. We love you and together let’s keep the joy hope and love flowing for a brighter better tomorrow. Thank you so much!

Give Amore is Eight Years Old!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen”-Ephesians 3:20-21

Can you believe it? Give Amore just celebrated our eight (8) year anniversary!!! Over 13 years ago, I donated plastic chairs to a school in Kenya. That’s how ALL THIS started! That turned into sponsoring one child, then another, then another and another, and another which stirred in me a desire to go to Kenya in 2012 which stirred in me a desire to really affect change and transformation in the communities we serve.

 It’s truly incredible when you think about all God has been able to accomplish because I was willing to be the voice for our brother and sisters across the globe and I have waited with expectation (and sometimes with fear) for Him to stir in the hearts of others to join me over the years! I never could have imagined what Give Amore could accomplish through a work-from-home busy mama, a laptop, social media. God put the rest together in such an incredible way!

 A dear friend created this video as a recap of 2022 that I wanted to make sure everyone sees!

This is just summarizing last year but not ALL the we’ve done! If I tried to list it, I’d be here for days and days. The impact for His kingdom that we are having is immeasurable! I believe we will only get to see all that we’ve been a part of when we meet Jesus and He says “Well done my good and faithful servant”. How amazing will that be?

 As we start on our 9th year in ministry, we have 2 major needs at this time…

•  Our sponsorship program is in need of multiple sponsors. In fact, we really need to DOUBLE our support for this incredible program. The sponsorship costs have been going up steadily for years, yet the cost of sponsorship has stayed the same. We’re in the negative. We need an additional $3000 per month to break even for 2023.

•  I would desperately like to get back to Kenya in May of 2023! That’s right around the corner! I’m looking for a partner (or two) that would like to join me on an incredible trip of a lifetime! I truly am my BEST self when I’m there and long to be with our amazing team and community that are like family to me! I estimate the price of the trip to be around $3500-$4000 for 10-14 days. I’m somewhat flexible with dates, but would love to share this experience with someone else that God stirs to go! Pray about it please and reach out with any questions!

Again, I find myself waiting with expectation on God’s provisions. It’s all His. In His timing. His people. He loves us and has plans to give us hope and a future! I’m so thankful for the front row seat I have to witness all this goodness.

In His Love,

Christa Horst

Give Amore

Founding Director

On to a New Year

Being our very first newsletter edition this year, Give Amore takes this chance to thank you for your continued support and look forward to a much more productive 2023 full of so much joy, hope and love. Our goal this year still remains investing in projects that have sustainable affirmative impacts in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Kenya.

Further, we remain committed to spreading the gospel in acts of good will to bring even more disciples to the growing family of Christ… to teach more people how to fish so as to feed them for a lifetime. 2023 comes at a time most people are grappling with harsh economic elements but it is our hope and prayer all will be well as the year progresses.

From our families to yours n we wish you a happy 2023 filled with blessings and so much abundance.

It is Back to School in Kenya

Armed with books, stationery, new school uniforms, toiletries and more, our sponsored children commenced their first school semester this year ready to learn all thanks to your thoughtful giving that has kept giving all over the years. Just like their peers, they all have a reason to stay in school glitch free.

The beginning of every semester is always accompanied by hustles and bustles as people rush to beat set deadlines and our team did their very best early enough to avoid any possible hiccups. Major activities included purchases of school supplies as well as paying school fees for all our esteemed sponsored children.

It is through your much needed help that these children are in school. We pray for them that God protect them and bless them with good health and wisdom to pursue their dreams now and in the future to come.

Meet Cynthia!

Orphaned and from a deprived background, little Cynthia has seen it all from sleeping on an empty belly, dropping out of school, lack of clothing and so much more ills life can throw at a person but still her resilience and determination keeps her adorable smile on and eye on a better tomorrow.

Her hope is fueled by your dedicated support that supplements her diet monthly, pays for her school fees and supplies every semester and so much more priceless backings. She dreams to becoming a teacher when she grows up and help guide children like her to a hopeful tomorrow.

With your support she can become anything and everything she aspires to be and we pray it continues until they are all realized and not the reverse. God bless you for all you do and we pray he keeps providing for little Cynthia like he has for years now.

Merry Christmas from The Give Amore Team

We pray the joy of the season has found you! We have been in awe watching God stir in the hearts of others to join us in making a difference across the globe this season! I, personally have had such fun watching people volunteer their time, talent and treasures to support us! It fuels me and energizes me. Often times this journey can feel a little lonely. This season has been anything but! It’s a reminder to me that we can all do something and when we find passion and purpose it can energize us in all areas of our lives!

Read these few articles to see what we’ve been up to this month and be on the lookout for a video update that will recap 2022 and perhaps move you to tears like it has me!  

Prayers have been answered and it’s an honor and privilege to be the messenger of such goodness!

We thank you for your support and are so grateful for your generous giving that makes all this possible! 

Merry Christmas to you and your families! Stay tuned for our 2022 Recap Video!

In Love,

Christa Horst and The Give Amore Team

Sharing the Joy and Love of Christmas

Christmas came early to our brothers and sisters in Kenya and once again everything was done to tradition just like the pre pandemic years. Every child received new clothes, shoes as well as extra food and toiletries supplies. Among other special gifts were a cow, goat and chicken for select families.

To top it all off, everyone was treated to an end year feast with distinguished Kenyan delicacies served including masala rice, chapatti, deep fried chicken, corn bread and so much more. Further the congregation was filled with joy of getting together in celebration of the end of an eventful yet successful year.  

Christmas means so much to many children and adults alike across the globe and as witnessed, Santa managed once again to put a smile on every child's face courtesy of your generous thoughtful giving. It is a season of neighborliness and indeed you all set the bar so high. Happy Christmas!

Celebrating Well #36

Miriam, a grandmother of seven, alongside her village mates witnessed the unveiling of Give Amore's 36th well one of its kind in the very deprived remote village. The well was unveiled in a short ceremony of prayer and thanksgiving to mark the beginning of its service to its beneficiaries.

According to Miriam, now 70, all her life has been spent wandering far and wide in search for water for her domestic consumption but at last a permanent solution to her troubles finally arrived. A gift she never fathomed would be realized in her life time let alone being just yards off her homestead.

The well is strategically located in the village which gives ease of access to its clean water by everyone from within and beyond. Also this new baby provides a remedy to the prevalent waterborne diseases that have plagued many for years causing pains and at times fatalities especially in children.

2022 Year in Review

From wells, jigger clinics, school sponsorships, graduations from our computer and tailoring classes and more, it has been quite an eventful year yet fruitful. As we grappled with inflation among other tough economic and personal challenges, we managed to do more together than previously projected.

This has been made possible through our concerted efforts under the banner of hope joy and love. It is safe to say that through this banner this year alone we delivered five wells, graduated fifteen tailoring students, treated over sixty children from jiggers, couple these with our school sponsorships as well as food distribution, all the glory goes to God for these remarkable deliverables.

As the year ends, we look forward in hope for an even successful year full of God's grace and blessings to even do more to instill hope, brighten the world with joy and look out for each other in the greatest gift of all, love. As you sign off your Christmas cards this year, bear in mind all the goodness of God you have spread thousands of miles from home.

A Humble, Important Ask...

Some of our children and their gifts last year at our Give Amore Christmas Party!

Happy Thanksgiving Faithful Partners!

We hope this short newsletter finds you overflowing with gratitude and joy seeing a small glimpse into the goodness you are contributing to our brothers and sisters across the globe!

We are so thankful for your partnership-not just in prayers but in ACTION as you make a difference to your brother and sisters around the world!

As we head into the holiday season full force, I am asking for your prayerful consideration in helping us not only with Christmas gifts and a feast for our families in Kenya but to help us make up the deficit in our sponsorship program. We have had 30%+ increases in the cost of EVERYTHING. We have been covering this as long as possible without raising the sponsorship amount for our children. Unfortunately, the prices are just too high now and cannot afford to do that any longer.

I am currently facing a difficult decision of possibly NOT having a Christmas feast/gift for the children in order to TRY to afford school fees in January. As a mom this breaks my heart. As the director of Give Amore, it’s a pretty big deal that not only do we not have a cushion in our account any longer but we, in fact, have a SHORTAGE for funds for our sponsorship program.

We pay half the school fees for our children in January as well as uniforms, shoes, books, school supplies and the monthly provision of food. If we don’t have enough funds to cover this, I’m not sure what we will do. When given the choice between food and education, it’s a pretty hard choice! I pray that I don’t have to make that choice. In the past, God has always shown up mightily for us by moving in the hearts of others to be the light in this world!

So, I humbly ask that you consider a few things:

1. Giving to our Christmas fund

2. Giving a general donation for 2023 on top of any current donations

3. Increasing your monthly sponsorship by $25 or $50 per month (as able)

We cannot thank you enough for your generous giving. It’s because of this that I have such a hard time asking for more from anyone! But, God says to ask and it will be given unto you. Ask and that door will be opened. Ask and you shall receive.

We cannot wait to see how God provides!

With Much Love and Gratitude,

Christa Horst and the Give Amore Team

Unveiling Well #35

Another community in western Kenya is celebrating a new well that was commissioned and gifted to them after many years of plight to end their water problem. This well brings our total wells completed to thirty-five, a mark way beyond our projection all thanks to your thoughtful generosity.

Women and children from all over the community and beyond will benefit from this magnificent gift all thanks to its strategic central location. This ensures time is saved hence beneficiaries can now focus on other activities they prior couldn’t.

Sighting water was marvelous but the notion that the same water is providing solutions to tens of families or even more is humbling, satisfying and glorifying to our efforts in realizing our vision of providing long lasting remedy to the massive water menace in western Kenya.

More Sewing School Graduates Facing a Promising Future

Our good work of women empowerment through imparting of sewing skills is paying off as indicated by a recent graduation of our previous class after successfully completing a six months course on everything embroidery. Each graduand received a sewing machine and kit to equip them for industry.

Like their predecessors, most of these beautiful skilled women come from humble backgrounds with limited education and resources thus skills acquired will go along way in providing economic soundness to their families.

Every student in this program trains free of charge therefore, witnessing the milestones reached so far, we believe this program isn’t mere luck but a venture guided by grace, passion and undisputed divine approval for the glory of God. We wish them all the best as they take the first steps into their promising future.

What Are You Thankful For?

Over the years we have watched Give Amore grow in bounds but little did we know it would integrate and be part of people’s daily lives as it is today. In major parts of western Kenya, it is close to impossible not to note conspicuous projects done and delivered by our consolidated efforts in bettering lives.

From jigger clinics, clean water wells, tailoring training, school sponsorships, food and toiletries distribution and so much more including our efforts in the fight against covid 19, our presence is not only essential but God sent to permanently change lives and this means a lot.

As a leader in what we do, we have set a precedence of integrity, hard work, compassion, love and self-driven motivation qualities that have greatly shaped productive men and women who also seek to give back immensely to their communities creating a ripple effect of positive change. Therefore, we seek to thank all our partners who have walked with us over the years and whose prayers and contributions form the bedrock and foundation that we stand on today. Happy Thanksgiving!